title: Acceptable noise level (ANL) and real-world hearing-aid success in Taiwanese listeners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the relationship between acceptable noise level (ANL), which was measured using Taiwanese and the international speech test signal (ISTS), and real-world hearing-aid success for listeners who were representative of the population commonly seen in clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Unaided ANLs were measured pre-hearing-aid fitting. Hearing-aid success was assessed three months post-fitting using the international outcome inventory for hearing aids (IOI-HA) and a hearing-aid use questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty adults with hearing impairment completed the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both Taiwanese and ISTS ANLs were significantly associated with hearing-aid success, with higher ANLs suggesting poorer outcomes. However, the ANL's prediction accuracy for the probability of hearing-aid success was either much lower than that suggested by some literature, or was not much different from that of simply predicting all listeners as successful users.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study suggested the possibility of using ANL to predict hearing-aid success. However, the usefulness of ANL as a clinical tool is unlikely to be as great as indicated by the literature.
authors.affiliation: * Department of Otolaryngology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu-Chi General Hospital , Chiayi , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsu-Chueh
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Yu-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shih-Hsuan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: Xuyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome